Big Society Capital announces name change to Better Society Capital
Melanie May | 29 April 2024 | News
Social impact investor Big Society Capital will from today (29 April) be known as Better Society Capital, it has announced – with the name chosen to better reflect the organisation’s mission to grow investment into social issues in the UK while also retaining its track record and heritage.
Conceived under New Labour in the early 2000s and launched under a Coalition government in 2012, Better Society Capital was set up to be an independent and financially sustainable organisation with a remit of growing the UK social impact investment market. It helps direct money from pension funds, trusts and foundations, family offices and other institutional investors into organisations tackling social challenges from homelessness to healthcare.
Since then, it has helped the market grow more than tenfold from around £800 million to over £9 billion, through its own investments and by bringing co-investors into the space, as well as through awareness raising and education.
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Initiatives in recent years have included helping to create Good Finance, an organisation which helps social purpose organisations navigate social investment; enabling retail investors to access impact opportunities for the first time via the Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust; partnering with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in a scheme to support families in temporary accommodation; helping to facilitate the largest ever transfer of UK renewable energy assets to community ownership; and a report on the fiscal and social benefits of government working with social investors.
Stephen Muers, Chief Executive of Better Society Capital, said:
“Better Society Capital has now been working to bring investors alongside us to tackle social problems for over twelve years, and we have seen remarkable success from the organisations that we have been able to support. This evolution to Better Society Capital provides opportunity to reaffirm our mission and open up new opportunities to help maximise value for government, private investors, and the social purpose organisations who need it.”
Robin Hindle Fisher, Chair of Better Society Capital, said:
“Better Society Capital achieved an enormous amount in its first eleven years and I am excited about the contribution it can make to the market’s growth in the future. For us to do this it is important that we define our role in the sector clearly and ensure that our outward messaging is as true to our mission as possible. I am confident that this change of name will unlock opportunities for BSC, and in turn for the organisations we fund and the investors we partner with, while making the UK a better place to live.”
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown was Chancellor of the Exchequer when he established the Social Investment Task Force in 2000, which first developed the idea of a social investment wholesaler. This was then carried forward by the Coalition Government leading to Better Society Capital’s formation in 2012. Commenting, he said:
“It is very heartening to see how much has been achieved using unclaimed assets since the legislation to release them passed in 2008. I congratulate the BSC team for its creativity and skill in pursuing its important mission. I wish it continued success in creating a better society under its new name.“
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.